There is an issue with the 64 bit Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 or 8.1 drivers that causes the spooler to crash with the following HP Deskjet printers:

Deskjet 710

Deskjet 712

Deskjet 720

Deskjet 722

Deskjet 810

Deskjet 812

Deskjet 820

Deskjet 822

Deskjet 1000

The attached file contains a patch for this issue for Vista and Windows 7.

[The patch does not currently work for Windows 8 or 8.1 x64 systems. There are some efforts to address this, if a solution is developed it will be posted here. {Edit - I have not made any progress in getting the patch to work in Windows 8 x64.}]

First make sure the driver for the printer is installed. If the driver has not been installed go to Start, Devices and Printers, Add a Printer, Local Printer, choose the proper port (for USB-Parallel converters the port will likely be USB001: or perhaps USB002: ), Next, click Windows Update then choose HP for the manufacturer and select the appropriate printer.

Apply the patch as follows: Log into the computer with an administrative account. Download the patch by clicking on this link or on the paper clip at the end of this post. Save the patch file to your computer, then unzip it. Next copy the three DLL files to the following directory: %windir%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3

Note that %windir% is a system variable that points to the location of the Windows directory. For most systems this will be C:\Windows. You can click Start, Computer and type %windir%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3 in the address bar and it will find the right place.

This can be done from a DOS prompt if DOS is opened with the "run as administrator" command, or from explorer with a copy and paste. Depending on your UAC settings you may need to provide confirmation. Also allow the current files to be overwritten if prompted.

This patch is not required and should not applied to a 32 bit version of Vista or Windows 7.

Download the patch from here. Now click on the file and open it, then extract the patch to some directory that is easy to find. (I use c:\temp. If this directory does not exist you can create it as follows: open the administrative DOS prompt by clicking on Start, All Programs, Accessories, then right click on CMD.EXE and select Run as Administrator. Click in the DOS box then type the following:

MD c:\temp

CD \temp

Now extract the patch files into the c:\temp directory (extract all, chose c:\temp as the destination).

[Update - Windows security settings may prevent these files from being used, please open Computer, type c:\temp in the address bar and then right click on each of the dll files and select Properties. If there is a message in Properties indicating the file was downloaded from the internet and may be blocked then unblock the file before proceeding.]

Next click back in the administrative DOS prompt and type the following: (stuff in green is comments, do not type them...)

DIR *.dll (this is just to verify the files are there, it should list hpvdb720.dll, hpvdb820.dll and hpwm5db1.dll and perhaps others.)

Net stop spooler (makes sure the files are not in use.)

Copy hpvdb720.dll C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3 (this is for the Deskjet 710/712/720/722)

[Edit - note that these DLL files will already be in the directory. You will get a warning asking if it is OK to overwrite the files, say "yes".]

At this point the patch is installed and ready to print.

Note that the printers here do not support USB connections, they have only parallel ports. [Edit - if your printer does have a parallel port use it, this will likely be much less problematic than using a USB-Parallel converter.] If you use a USB-parallel converter make sure it is supported in your operating system. The following posts are flagged with USB-parallel cables that are reported to work in Windows 7. A driver is required for the USB-parallel converter in addition to the driver for the printer. For supported converters this is typically supplied automatically in Windows 7. Note: the proper port to select for the USB-Parallel converters is often USB001:. I have heard of some cases where the port was USB002: or LPT3: as well. If the port you are using does not succeed (after applying the patch) try changing the port by going to Start, Devices and Printers, right click on your printer and select Printer Properties, then click on the Ports tab.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert

I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.

If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button ------------V

Mick4 wrote: The trouble is I only was able to unzip the 3 dll files but don't know how to replace the bad dll files. Mick 4

If you are using Windows 7 do the following: Log in as a user with administrater properties. [The following assumes you are using IE as the browser] Click on the link here and select "save". When the download completes select "Open folder", then right click on the DJ_patch.zip file and select Extract All. If Extract All is not an option then click on "Open with" and select Windows Explorer.

Leave the default directory and check the "Show extracted files when complete" box, Extract. Click Start, Computer and type %windir%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3. Arrange the windows so you can access both window panes. Go to the first pane and select the three dll files, hpvdb720.dll, hpvdb820.dll and hpwm5db1.dll. Now drag and drop them to the %windir%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3 window, select copy and answer "replace" to the dialog box.

Note: %windir% is a system variable that points to the Windows directory. For most systems this will be C:\Windows, but it may vary depending on the hardware configuration ond setup of the computer. If you type %windir% in the address bar in explorer or in Start, Search Programs and Files it will find the proper directory.

I had installed Win7 64-bit on my HP machine a couple weeks ago without doing any research on compatibilty of my DeskJet 712C beforehand (big mistake...). Windows did recognize the printer and installed the driver (710 series) just fine but I too was getting the spooler error when I tried to print. I contacted HP support about this issue hoping they had a fix availble. The support rep tried a few things with me but was not able to get it working. I had read posts about others having the same issue so I was hopful there would be a universal fix that would be released soon, as my alternative was to reinstall the 32-bit version of Windows 7, since this issue was not reproduced in that environment. I saw this posting today and followed the simple instructions, printed a test page on my printer and Viola! it's working! Thanks everyone involved with making this fix available.

Thanks, the patch works fine with my Windows 7 x64 and HP 710C over USB to parallel port adapter from Delock.

J.G

Bob_Headrick wrote:

There is an issue with the 64 bit Visa and Windows 7 drivers that causes the spooler to crash with the following Deskjet printers:

Deskjet 710

Deskjet 712

Deskjet 720

Deskjet 722

Deskjet 810

Deskjet 812

Deskjet 820

Deskjet 822

Deskjet 1000

The attached file contains a patch for this issue. Apply the patch as follows: First make sure the driver for the printer is installed. Log into the computer with an administrative account. Download the patch by clicking on this link or on the paper clip at the end of this post. Save the patch file to your computer, then unzip it. Next copy the three DLL files to the following directory:

%windir%\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3

This can be done from a DOS prompt if DOS is opened with the "run as administrator" command, or from explorer with a copy and paste. Depending on your UAC settings you may need to provide confirmation. Also allow the current files to be overwritten if prompted.

This patch is not required and should not applied to a 32 bit version of Vista or Windows 7.

I am not comouter savey but it took me several hours today and I got the printer working. I asked HP to help me apply the patch . All they said was that the printer was not compatible with Windows 7 and they can offer me good price for another printer.

I understand that you have copied and replaced the three.dll files.

Go to control panel, printers , click on Add a new printer, Add local printer . You need to find your printer from the HP list, and let windows instal the driver.make it your default printer.

Skip the part where it says to Print a test page. Clik on finish and you should be done.